


Something Great

by JoMouse



Category: One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: 1DLyricWheel, Alternate Universe, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Crushes, Goodbyes, M/M, Summer, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-08-09 10:52:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7798933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMouse/pseuds/JoMouse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The boys go for one last weekend away before they are scattered around the world. Things change for everyone.</p>
<p>Submission for the First Round of the <a href="http://1dlyricwheel.tumblr.com">1DLyricWheel Challenge</a> - Album: Midnight Memories</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something Great

**Author's Note:**

> Greetings.
> 
> The best and worst thing I ever did was get involved with the [1DLyricWheel Challenge](http://1dlyricwheel.tumblr.com). The best because it really challenged me to write in a short amount of time (didn't think I could do deadlines). The worst because I'm obsessed with doing them now.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> xx-Joey
> 
> Don't know 'em. Don't own 'em. Don't show 'em.

“Come on, bring everything!” Louis shouted through the doorway as he ran towards the VW bus he’d borrowed for the weekend.

“‘Bring everything’ he says,” Liam muttered under his breath as he stared at the piles of duffle bags and boxes of food that are taking up a large portion of the sitting room floor. “He does know I’m just one person, right?”

“Need some help?” 

Liam turned and smiled at Zayn leaning in the doorway, his hair soft and falling over his eyes. The boy usually wasn’t up before noon, so Liam was surprised to see him standing there with the sun barely breaking over the horizon behind him. Liam tilted his head to watch the soft pink light filter through the ends of Zayn’s hair as it curled over one ear.

“Earth to Major Liam,” Zayn said, laughing and waving a hand in front of Liam’s face, making the younger boy blush and turn back to the supplies. “He does know we’re only going for a weekend, yeah?”

“That’s not enough food,” Niall said around a yawn as he came down the stairs.

“What the hell were you doing upstairs?” Liam asked, confused.

“Slept here, didn’t I?” Niall responded as he reached for one of the food boxes, jerking his hand back when Louis suddenly appeared and smacked the back of it. 

“Harry’s on his way with doughnuts. These are for the weekend,” Louis said, grabbing one of the duffels and heading out the door again. “The van won’t load itself!” 

The other three shook their heads and started grabbing bags and boxes before following Louis’ path. Once the sitting room was emptied and the bus was full, Harry arrived with three pastry boxes. Niall was grabbing one before Harry was barely out of the car. 

“No coffee?” Zayn asked as he looked inside Harry’s car, a pout on his face, and Liam had to shake his head to keep from staring.

“C’mon, mate, I’ll make a pot for the road. You can have the first cup,” Liam said, pulling Zayn by the arm behind him into the house.

“I love you,” Zayn muttered. Liam felt a glow in his chest, tamping it down by reminding himself that Zayn didn’t mean it the way that Liam wished he did.

“You just love m’coffee.”

***

An hour later, Louis was in the driver’s seat, Harry riding shotgun and fiddling with the navigation on his phone. “The phone is wrong,” Louis argued, earning a fond shake of the head from Harry and groan from Niall, who had commandeered the center seat for himself, stretched out with his head on a pillow against one armrest. He kept kicking his legs, which were hanging over the other armrest, against the door, earning a glare in the rearview mirror from Louis each time.

Zayn and Liam were in the furthest back seat. It was meant for three, but they’d brought so much stuff, that they were pressed together on one end by three duffle bags. Zayn was currently sleeping against Liam’s shoulder, and Liam was staring out the window at the horizon to keep from staring at his mate.

Niall sat up and turned around, his camera out and snapping a picture of the two of them. His fingers flew over his phone, and Liam quirked an eyebrow. “Just documenting our last big trip together,” Niall told him as he turned the phone to show Liam the photo before Niall added it to his snapchat story.  _ “Awww!”  _ with two sets of heart eye emojis brandished across the top of it.

“It’s not like that,” Liam mumbled, not wanting to think about why they were taking this trip. 

Once they returned from the weekend, this group of five would be scattered to different corners of the world. Louis was moving to a flat in London to attend Metropolitan University to become a teacher. Harry was heading off to France to study cooking with a pastry chef that was a friend of his family. Niall was going back to Ireland to work with his father and study there. The one going the furthest, and possibly the one that hurt the most, was Zayn. He would be leaving the continent and heading off to New York to study at a prestigious art school. Liam couldn’t be prouder of his mate, but he wasn’t ready to say goodbye. 

Then, there was Liam. Poor, dumb, Liam, who couldn’t get into a fancy school, and, despite his success on the footie team at school, couldn’t get a good enough scholarship. His dad had managed to get him a job at the factory, and he would be staying in Wolverhampton, waving goodbye to his friends as they went on with their lives. He was probably going to take some courses at the University there, but figured he’d be better off focusing on his job.

“Stop pouting,” Zayn mumbled, startling Liam out of his self-pity party. 

“Thought you were sleeping,” Liam said, his voice low as he watched Niall’s eyes begin to droop with exhaustion.

“Was. Not anymore,” Zayn responded, shifting around in the seat until he was sitting up straighter. Liam missed his closeness immediately. “Are we there yet?” he shouted towards the front, laughing when Louis flipped him off.

“Don’t make me turn this car around,” Louis said, his voice firm, but breaking into laughter as soon as he was done speaking. 

“Should be another twenty minutes according to GPS,” Harry said, waving the phone. 

“Gotta piss,” Niall spoke up, his eyes still closed.

They stopped at a small petrol station a few minutes later, and Niall went racing for the loo while the rest of them stood outside, leaning against the bus or stretching their legs. Liam’s mobile rang, and he stepped away to answer.

“‘Lo?” 

“Liam! I’m sorry to bother you while you’re on your trip, but a gentleman just called, and I think you should call him back.” His mother’s voice was excited, and Liam was having a hard time keeping up. 

“Who called?” Liam asked and saw Zayn’s head pop up to look at him.

“His name was Garrett VonKason, and he said he was a recruiter for the New York City Football Club,” Karen said. 

Liam’s eyes grew wide, and he felt Zayn step up next to him, laying a hand on his arm. “Are you serious?”

“I wouldn’t interrupt your weekend for a joke!” Karen snapped. “I’ll text you the number. You call right away and then call me back!”

“What happened?” Zayn asked, the worry in his voice drawing the attention of the other boys.

“Not sure yet. I need to make a call,” Liam told them. He opened his mum’s text and connected to the number she’d sent. He was surprised the phone was answered right away and the man genuinely seemed happy to hear from him. After about twenty minutes of talking, Liam watching the other boys trying desperately to not look like they were eavesdropping and knowing they weren’t getting anything from Liam’s side of the conversation, he hung up.

“Who was that?” Louis demanded before Liam could even text his mum to tell her that he’d made the call and he’d fill her in when he returned. He knew she would be upset with him, but he needed to get his head around what had just happened first.

“Nobody,” Liam said. “Everybody ready to go?” The rest of the group kept asking questions, but Liam refused to answer, and they each gave up.

“You’ll tell me eventually, yeah?” Zayn whispered when they were settled back into the bus. Liam nodded, his gaze out the window as his mind went over the call.

***

Zayn stared down at the paper in front of him. His pen had been running over it for twenty minutes, but nothing was coming out the way he needed. He was normally good with words, he’d been top in his English courses, but this letter wasn’t coming easy to him. He sighed, opening the window in front of him, scrambling over the desk and out onto the roof.

He smiled at the reflection of the full moon in the still water of the pond, smiling when he heard a splash and saw the water ripple. A second splash soon followed, and, when he squinted, he could make out two figures moving through the water. When they climbed up onto the raft, Zayn wasn’t surprised that it was Louis and Harry. 

This cottage rental had originally been meant just for them, a final weekend together before they were separated for who knew how long. Zayn suspected there was more to the weekend because Louis had been more fidgety than normal when he’d told Zayn about it. Harry had been the one to suggest it be a group outing, and no one had missed the frown on Louis’ face when he’d agreed, except Harry.

Now, they were here and everyone seemed to have had a great first day, relaxing and bullshitting. Everyone, except Liam. Zayn looked back over his shoulder towards the room he was sharing with the lad. He couldn’t hear Liam’s soft snores floating through, so he was pretty sure the other lad was only pretending to be asleep. Liam had been distracted and kept excusing himself to use the phone, coming back more introspective than he had been before disappearing.

Zayn had tried talking to him once they’d climbed into their beds, but Liam had begged off, claiming he was tired. He’d never felt so distant from his friend, his heart breaking at the thought that there would be this emotional distance between them even before there was an ocean between them, as well.

The sound of another window opening startled Zayn. He glanced over to see Niall’s head poking out, a sleepy smile on his face. “Alright?” Zayn nodded, but Niall must have sensed something was off, because he sighed before climbing out to sit next to Zayn. “Look at that,” Niall said, pointing out towards the water.

Harry and Louis were still on the raft, wrapped together and dancing to music that only they could hear. “Don’t know how they’re going to do it,” Zayn whispered. “Being away from the love of your life for so long.”

“They’re only going to be about three hours apart,” Niall pointed out. “Not five time zones and an ocean.” Zayn opened his mouth, but shut it quickly, no argument coming to his lips. “You haven’t told him yet, have ya?”

“When was I supposed to?” Zayn questioned, Niall nodding sadly in response. They’d all discussed Liam’s strange behaviour, no one able to come up with an answer. “Was trying to write him a letter.” Zayn pushed the paper into Niall’s hands, watching his eyes travel over it. “ I want to rip it all to shreds and start again, if I’m being honest.”

Niall’s eyes were shiny when they met his. “No, this is great, Zee. You should give it to him.”

“Give who, what?” Liam’s sleepy voice greeted as he climbed out next to them. “What the hell?” he asked, and they followed his gaze to the two on the water.

Louis was kneeling, holding one of Harry’s hands and suddenly the air was filled with Harry screaming, “Yes!” The three on the roof started applauding and cheering, Niall pulling his phone out to snap pictures that probably wouldn’t turn out, but at least he was trying.

After a long kiss, Louis and Harry waved before diving into the water, hands clasped together and returning to shore. Niall crawled into Zayn and Liam’s window. “Gonna meet them downstairs, you should join us. After you talk,” he said, pointedly looking at Zayn.

Once the door to the room closed behind Niall, Zayn turned to find Liam watching him. “We do need to talk,” Liam said, Zayn’s heart clenching as he moved the paper Niall had been holding underneath his leg, hopefully out of Liam’s line of sight.

“About what?” Zayn finally lit the cigarette he’d come outside to smoke, offering it to Liam who shook his head. “Trying to quit again?”

“Gonna do it this time,” Liam said, voice serious. “I start training in a couple of weeks.”

Zayn turned to Liam so quickly, he knocked himself off-balance, scrambling to grab Liam so he didn’t fall off the roof. “Training for what?”

“That’s why I’ve been on the phone so much,” Liam told him, scratching at the roof tiles next to him. “I’m going to wait to tell the others, after the weekend or just before we leave, but I was having a hard time sleeping because I needed to tell you. I hate keeping anything from you.”

“You’re joining the military, aren’t you?” Zayn whispered, willing back the moisture that had sprung to his eyes. Liam had mentioned a few times that he was thinking it might be the best option for him, and while Zayn would support Liam in any decision he made, he was terrified of losing him.

“No. I’ve pretty much figured out it wasn’t the right choice for me.” He chuckled. “Really, my mum threatened to kill me if I joined up.”

“Always liked your mum,” Zayn said, smiling, his body tensing when Liam wrapped an arm around him and pulled him into his side. “So, what are you training for.”

“Footie,” Liam said. “Mum got a call from a recruiter. Seems some tapes of me and books of my stats found their way to his desk. He’s been talking to the coach over the last few months.”

Zayn felt his face heat up and he held his breath. “What did the coach say?”

Liam sighed. “The coach didn’t want me. Said bringing someone over to play who was unknown and straight out of school wouldn’t make sense.” Zayn’s heart sank. “However, the recruiter seemed to have faith in me, so he talked to his alma mater, New York University. The team has a spot for me.”

“Really? New York?” Zayn couldn’t hide the excitement in his voice.

“It’s a lot of money though,” Liam said, pulling his lower lip between his teeth.

“Oh.” The excitement leeched from Zayn like a deflated balloon, and he slouched forward.

“Which is why I’ve been on the phone so much. I told the recruiter that I couldn’t afford to come over, so he called a few people. Apparently, the New York City Football Club has grants and small scholarships for athletes, as does the alumni association at the university. It won’t cover everything, but mum and dad are going to help me take out a loan for the rest,” Liam said. “So…”

“So?” Zayn asked, looking at him, trying to keep the hope in his heart from growing too big.

“It looks like you won’t have to be alone in New York,” Liam said, smiling wide.

“Thank fuck,” Zayn said, his smile wide as he looked up at Liam. “I really didn’t know what I was going to do without you.”

Liam smiled. “You would’ve been fine without us, Zee. People love you.”

Zayn was quiet for a minute as he pulled the paper out from beneath his leg, staring at it a moment before handing it to Liam. “I didn’t mean everyone. I meant  _ you.” _

***

Liam watched Zayn climb back inside the window. He glanced down at the paper in his hand, squinting his eyes, thankful for the full moon. He was even more thankful when Zayn flipped on the bedroom light behind him. He glanced towards the room, meeting Zayn’s eyes before he disappeared into the hallway.

Turning back around, his eyes ran over the familiar handwriting, not taking in the words yet, just the fact that Zayn had taken the time to write Liam an actual letter.

_ Dear Liam, _

_ This is probably the strangest thing I’ve ever done in all the years of our friendship, but I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get up the nerve to say this out loud to you. _

_ When we first met, you were the only kid that was nice to me when others were teasing me about my skin colour and my name and anything else that they could think of to use against me. You found me hiding under that slide on the playground, looking down at me with a smile on your face, and I knew I’d found a lifelong friend before you’d even said a word. There was just something in your eyes. _

_ I remember sitting and talking with my mum after a really hard day at the new school, wishing that things were different. She reminded me recently that I would always ask her, “Is it too much to ask for something great?” She always told me that was the least that I could ask, and the least that I deserved. _

_ Through you, and with you, my life became so much more than I ever expected it to be when I was younger. I have mates, real mates, whom I trust as much, if not more, than my own blood. My life became something great. _

_ As I sit here, wishing time would freeze us in this place, make it last forever, I realize that it’s not just my life that’s something great - it’s you. You are the something great I was wishing for, and I didn’t even realize it until now. Until it was too late. _

_ I tried everything I could to get you to be able to come with me, but it appears I’ve failed. I am going to miss you so much when I go. Please don’t ever forget me. _

_ I love you, I really, really love you. _

_ Zee _

Liam blinked back tears as he read over the letter again, his mind trying to wrap around the whole thing and then focusing on individual parts.  _ “I tried everything I could to get you to be able to come with me.” _ Was Zayn the one who sent his information to the recruiter? Did Zayn have that much faith in him. He thought about Zayn cheering from the sidelines, never missing a game, even when he was sick with the flu.

_ “I love you, I really, really love you.” _ Did Zayn mean he was in love with Liam? Was he returning the feelings Liam had been having since he first realized that he, maybe, liked boys as well as girls. Or, at least, he liked Zayn. He’d sat back and watched Zayn go out with boy after boy, always wishing it was him, but never speaking up.

Liam shook his head. He had to know. He had to find out before they left for New York. If Zayn didn’t feel the same way, if Liam was misunderstanding his words, he needed to know now. He needed to know if he was moving to another country with his best mate or something more.

Climbing back in the window, he hurried down the stairs to find his friends in the living room. Bottles of beers were cracked open. Louis and Harry were both smiling wide as Harry kept holding his hand up and letting the light from the fire in the fireplace glint of the silver ring on his finger. Niall was laughing at something, his voice filling the room with a warmth that even the fire couldn’t compete with. 

And Zayn was...Zayn was watching the doorway, his eyes and smile hesitant when Liam raced in. “Did you mean it?” he asked, flinching as Zayn’s eyes widened and shot around the room at the others who had fallen silent. “Did you mean it how I think you meant it?” He approached Zayn who still wasn’t looking him in the eye. When he was in front of him, he pulled Zayn to his feet, using a hand on his chin to force him to look him in the face. “Zee,” he whined a little.

Zayn bit his lip as he nodded just slightly. Liam let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “I really, really love you, too,” he whispered before brushing his lips against Zayn’s, the kiss breaking far too quickly when the room erupted into cheers. 

They pressed their foreheads together, and Liam loved seeing the shine in Zayn’s eyes, his heart warming. “Don’t ever be mistaken though,” Liam whispered. “It’s not me. You’re the something great.” Zayn shook his head in argument, but Liam stopped him with another kiss, flipping off the others as they started pretending to gag.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to come talk to me on Twitter or tumblr. I really love meeting new people!


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